


Unexpected Ties

by Pebblemist



Series: Unexpected Ties [1]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Autistic Character, Child Abuse, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Domestic Violence, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Kermit is not Maya's father, Nearsighted Maya Hart, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Past Child Abuse, Shawn and Katy are not married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26815555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pebblemist/pseuds/Pebblemist
Summary: Things are going pretty well for the clique six as they navigate their sophomore year of high school. Even when things go wrong, Riley, Maya, Lucas, Zay, Farkle, and Smackle are confident that no matter what happens, they can make it through it if they stick together.But when a figure from both Maya and Lucas's past returns to New York City, the future begins to feel uncertain. Old wounds will be reopened, friendships will be put to the test, and the ties between friends and family will be shaken. Secrets that should have stayed secrets will be revealed, and no matter how hard Riley tries to fix things, life as they know it will change forever.
Relationships: Farkle Minkus/Isadora Smackle, Isaiah "Zay" Babineaux & Lucas Friar & Maya Hart & Riley Matthews & Farkle Minkus & Isadora Smackle, Isaiah "Zay" Babineaux & Maya Hart, Katy Hart/Shawn Hunter, Lucas Friar/Riley Matthews, Maya Hart & Riley Matthews, Topanga Lawrence-Matthews/Cory Matthews
Series: Unexpected Ties [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955818
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Unexpected Ties](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/695956) by Pebblemist (me). 



> Hello AO3!
> 
> My name is Pebblemist and I'm new around here! I used to be super active in fanfiction.net's GMW community but only now have I made the jump to AO3!
> 
> So this is something of a rewrite of the original Unexpected Ties. For those unfamiliar, Unexpected Ties was a fanfic I wrote and published on fanfiction.net in 2015. It was my longest-running story and likely my most popular, probably due to being one of the few I actually finished. It, alongside a half-finished sequel that has long since been abandoned, is still up on that site if you're curious, but be warned that it is pretty outdated, in part because I started it in the middle of season 1 and in part because I wrote it when I was the ripe old age of 13.
> 
> It's funny to look back and see that the original fic was conceived almost purely out of spite for Lucaya shippers. I was (and still am) a hardcore Rucas shippper but was knee-deep in ship wars and objected to the idea that Lucas and Maya did anything but bicker like siblings… I have no contempt whatsoever for non-Rucas shippers nowadays and I'm definitely not looking to get back onto the battlefield to fight over which of these fictional teenagers should date and which shouldn't.
> 
> Because the original was written while season one was still airing, some characters and ideas from seasons 2 and 3 that were absent from the first Unexpected Ties will be used because I would have included them had they been part of the show at the time. Others will be ignored or altered for the sake of staying true to the original fic. This won't be a word-for-word, scene-by-scene rewrite

_MAYA_

* * *

_The sun should have risen by now_ , Maya thinks, gazing out of the window with tired eyes. She's been awake for a few hours now, watching the raindrops fall and trying to capture the slate-gray world outside her window in her sketchbook. She can only barely make out the outline of the Bunny Mart through the wall of water, but every now and then, a flash of lightning illuminates everything clearly. But then it's gone as quick as it came, and the crash of thunder that follows shakes the apartment and leaves her in darkness again, with only the faint glow of her lamp for light.

Her eyes hurt from straining to see. She watches the time flicker from 5:59 to 6:00 and dismisses her alarm as fast as it goes off. _Time to get ready_ , she thinks reluctantly, shivering at the thought of leaving the warmth of her apartment for the cold, rainy world. _I'll never hear the end of it if I don't show up. Riley will strangle me!_

Maya pushes aside her sketchbook with a soft sigh, unimpressed with her work. She vows to work on it later, when she has more time and more light and can see a little better.

She doesn't bother with makeup and throws on a pair of tattered blue jeans and a yellow 'I 3 NYC' hoodie she doesn't really care about, knowing they'll get wet in the next few minutes. She shoves her sketchbook, history textbook, and half-finished algebra II homework into her bag, slings it over her shoulder, then breathes a reluctant sigh before venturing out of her room.

The apartment is in shambles. Dishes piled in the sink, stuff covering nearly every inch of the tables and countertops. Gammy is sleeping on the couch while reruns of _I Love Lucy_ watch her. Maya is careful not to wake her, and is about to grab the door handle when she hears the jingle of keys in the door.

"Off to school, Maya?" Katy Hart asks as she walks through the door. She's soaking wet, there are bags under her eyes rivaling Maya's own, and she looks ready to fall asleep on her feet.

Maya can't help but notice how exhausted her mother looks— working two consecutive overnight shifts at the Nighthawk will do that to you, she supposes— and takes her things, setting them on the counter. "Yeah. I'm picking Riley up first, though. How was work?"

"Slow night," Katy replies, kicking off her work shoes. She sits down at the kitchen table and puts her head in her hands. "I didn't get all that many tips, like always. I just don't know what to do, baby girl. I don't know if I'll make enough to get us through the end of the month at this rate."

"Mom, I've told you that Demolition's hiring. I could apply there," Maya places her hand on her mother's shoulder. "I could find a job anywhere. I can help, Mom. I _want_ to help."

Katy shakes her head. "That's not your responsibility, Maya. You need to focus on your schoolwork and getting into a good college and making a name for yourself, not paying rent."

"And _you_ need to stop working yourself half to death!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Pumpkin."

"I know you are," Maya sighs in defeat, glancing at the time. 6:15. "Alright, Mom, I've got to go. Just… try to get some rest, _please_? I'll see you after school, right?"

Katy shakes her head apologetically. "I'm closing at Svorski's tonight, then taking the night shift at the Nighthawk."

 _Of course you are_ , Maya bites back the remark. She gives her mom a hug, then heads towards the door again. "Well then… I'll see you when I see you, I guess. Love you, Mom!"

"I love you too, baby girl."

Maya sighs as the door clicks behind her. She scurries through the hallways and down the stairs, bracing herself as she steps out the doors into the freezing rain. She's soaked in seconds as she darts down the sidewalk, wind blasting in her face and plastering her long, rain-drenched blonde hair to her head and her sopping wet clothes to her skin.

She walks briskly down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd, careful not to slip in the puddles gathering in every dip and crack in the sidewalk. Cars drive past on the busy street, sending tidal waves in their wake. By the time Maya makes it to Riley's neighborhood, she's shivering, soaked to the bone, and just her luck, the rain decides to let up the moment she approaches the brownstone.

"Hey-hey losers, it's-it's M-Maya," she stammers breathlessly into the building's intercom, pressing the buzzer for Riley's apartment.

A few heartbeats pass before Riley responds with a cheerful "Come on up!" Even through the intercom, Maya can hear her smiling.

The lobby door unlocks and Maya's teeth begin to chatter as she steps into the air-conditioned building. She nods to the security guard and wastes no time finding Riley's apartment. She bursts through the door, her whole body shaking. "Sup goofballs?" she asks, stumbling inside.

"Maya!" Riley is grinning from ear to ear as she rushes to greet her friend. She pauses, noticing her bedraggled appearance. " _Sheesh_ , is it that bad out there?"

"Yeah, you look like a wet rat!" Auggie pipes up from the dining room table, looking up from watching Mr. Googly.

"Auggie!" Topanga gasps incredulously, though Maya can tell she and Cory are trying not to laugh.

Auggie shrugs unapologetically. "What, man? I tells it like I see it!"

Riley rolls her eyes, grabbing Maya by the wrist and dragging her up to her room. "Here, Maya, I'm sure you've left some clothes here, let's find you something that's not soaking wet."

"Th-thanks, Riles," Maya stammers through chattering teeth. She finds herself a clean, dry set of clothes while Riley searches for a towel.

Once she's changed and adequately dried off, Topanga waves her over to the table, shoving a plate of pancakes in her direction. "Maya, eat."

"No thanks, Mrs. Matthews, I-" she was going to say _'I ate at home_ ,' but the look on Topanga's face—at least what she can see of it— dissolves the lie in her throat.

"Oh, honey, I wasn't asking," Topanga smiles in a… vaguely _threatening_ way, and Maya shovels a bite of pancakes in her mouth out of fear that her friend's mother might try to feed her herself if she doesn't.

"So, Maya," Cory begins, interrupting before his wife can make any more threats, "I heard Mr. Jackson telling some of the other teachers about the art show coming up. Are you going to enter any of your pieces?"

Maya shrugs. "I don't know," she says truthfully, thinking about the sketch she struggled to get through early that morning. "I've been having some serious art block lately. I don't know if I have anything worth showing."

Riley nudges Maya in the ribs with her elbow. "There's supposed to be a lot of big important people there," she reminds her with a wide grin. "Representatives from good art schools, maybe some big name art collectors who could pay money for your work…"

"Well that sounds like a really good opportunity," Topanga says, and Cory nods in agreement.

"I guess it is," Maya stares at her plate as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. She can't meet the Matthews' gazes. "I… I'll think about it."

The subject changes shortly after, and it isn't long before the family disperses, with Cory gathering his graded papers and Topanga getting Auggie ready for school. By the time Maya finishes eating, it's 7:00, and Riley stands up. "Ready to go?"

Maya nods, slipping her bag over her shoulder and getting to her feet. "Yeah. Thank you for breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews," she calls, placing her plate in the sink and following Riley to the door.

"Any time, Maya," Cory says with a good-natured smile.

" _Every time_ , Maya," Topanga adds fiercely, if not somewhat threateningly.

"I know, Mrs. Matthews. I know."

* * *

They stop at a little coffee stand across the street from Abigail Adams High School— Riley's treat. The rain has stopped for now, and the clouds are dispersing. If Maya squints, she can see the sun peering cautiously from behind a skyscraper. She's sipping her caramel latte patiently while Riley waits for her hot chocolate with extra whipped cream when she gets an idea.

"Hey, Riles, what are you doing after school?" she asks, getting a little excited.

Riley takes her drink and tips the person running the stand, then leads the way down the street. "Nothing much. I'm meeting Lucas at the library right after school to study for our AP English test, but I'm free after that."

"Good," Maya says. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Whatcha need?"

"My mom has been working a lot lately," Maya explains, "And our apartment's a mess. She's working late tonight and I want to surprise her by cleaning up a bit. Could you maybe come over and help me?"

"I'm in," Riley beams, "I'm happy to help."

"Thank you," Maya looks both ways before leading the way across the busy street and up the steps into the school just before the first bell rings to signal students to head to first period.

"We're just in time," Riley says, scrambling to avoid being trampled by a group of seniors who don't seem to notice her. Maya tenses up, glaring at a student who attempts to push past her. She hates the way everyone rushes to class between the bells, like the kind of stampeding herd of wildebeest that killed Mufasa.

She grabs Riley's backpack and lets her lead the way to Mr. Matthews' classroom, fearing she'll get lost in the stampede without her. The blurry shape of Cory standing by the door becomes clearer the closer they get, and Maya is relieved when they take their seats inside the classroom. From her seat up front, she barely has to squint to make out the huge letters on the blackboard. She brushes a stray strand of golden blonde hair out of her eyes and pulls out her sketchbook and pencil, flipping to the page she'd tried to draw the storm on that morning. Perhaps she can fix it before class starts.

 _I'm not submitting anything to that art show,_ she thinks as she pulls the book slightly closer to her face. Her eyes gravitate to every imperfect stroke of her pencil, every detail that doesn't match the image she saw in her mind's eye. _Not unless I can get out of this slump, that is._

"That looks great, Maya," Riley leans over to get a better view. "Was that what the storm looked like from your window this morning?"

Maya can tell from the look on her face that Riley is wishing she'd been able to capture a picture. "Yeah, something like that," she admits, "It's not my best work. Actually if I'm honest, it kind of sucks."

"Well _I_ think it looks amazing," Riley says a-matter-of-factly, a genuine smile gracing her features. "No matter what you think."

 _That's because you think everything I draw is amazing, weirdo_ , Maya thinks, though she keeps her mouth shut. The final bell rings before she can respond, and the last few stragglers hurry in from the hallways. _I could eat paint and barf on a canvas and you'd call it my magnum opus!_

"Yes, your work is incredibly aesthetically pleasing," Smackle agrees.

"Yeah, Maya," Farkle adds from his seat behind Riley. "If you think that's anything less than perfect, you might need your eyes checked!"

Maya winces inwardly. That hits a nerve. "Thanks, you guys, but my eyes are _fine_ , Farkle," she growls, turning to glare at him. "Hey, where's Huckleberry?" she asks before he can utter a response, skillfully changing the subject from her artwork and her eyesight when she realizes that the seat behind her is empty.

"Yeah, it's not like him to show up late or skip school," Riley tugs at her hair worriedly, twisting it around her fingers. "What if something bad's happened to him?"

"He's not even five minutes late, Riles," Maya reminds her, kicking her feet up onto her desk nonchalantly and stretching back onto Lucas's empty desk. "I'm sure he's juuuust fine."

Riley fidgets anxiously. "I guess you're right."

"I know I am," Maya says, and her voice comes out much more confident than she feels. Lucas showing up late isn't like him, sure, but it's not worth panicking over, is it?

"I can text him if it'll make y'all feel better," Zay adds, pulling out his phone.

Cory starts the class, and when Maya checks the time 45 minutes later, Lucas still hasn't shown up. She glances over to see Riley staring intently at the door, as if she thinks that if she looks at it hard enough, Ranger Rick will come riding in on a white horse or something. Maya almost scoffs at the thought.

"Riles, _breathe_ ," she hisses under her breath.

Riley shakes her head so fast she almost makes Maya dizzy. "Nope, can't do that."

Maya tries desperately not to laugh. "Riley. _Relax_."

"Nope, can't do that one either."

Maya puts her face in her hands. "I give up."

"So do I!"

Maya sighs. She lifts her head and just barely catches movement outside the classroom. The door opens a heartbeat later, and a blue-shirted blur that is most likely Lucas hurries into the room. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Matthews. I had… something personal come up."

"There you are, Mr. Friar." Cory greets him and takes his tardy pass. "No worries. All that matters is that you're here now."

Lucas heads to his seat. "Thank you, sir."

"Nice of you to finally join us, Huckleberry," Maya turns to look at him, but he's just too far away for her to read his expression clearly without straining her eyes. She breathes a soft sigh and turns back around, glancing at Riley. She realizes with a frown that her best friend's features aren't very clear either. _When did so close start becoming so blurry?_ "You had Riley freaking out there for a while."

"I was not!" Riley cries. She turns in her seat. "We're glad you're here, really, we all are. Is everything okay, Lucas? We were all worried about you."

He nods, avoiding eye contact with her. "For now, yes. I'd… rather not talk about it right now, Riley."

Riley seems to sink in her chair, hanging her head. "Oh… right. Okay. That's fine. Well, you know we're all here for you when… I mean, if, you want to talk about it."

"I know," Lucas lets out a soft, tired sigh. "I'll explain it to y'all later, okay? Let's just get on with the class.

 _Don't push him_ , Riles, Maya thinks, watching Riley carefully. She's curious to know what's wrong with Huckleberry too, but even she can tell he's tired, and she can barely see him. Whatever's going on probably isn't something he wants to discuss for the entire class to hear, and she respects that.

But over the rest of the class period, Riley keeps glancing wistfully over her shoulder. If Maya squints, she can make out the face Riley makes when she's trying to work out how to fix something. Maya sighs.

_Leave it to Riley Matthews to try to work out how to fix Mr. Perfect without knowing what's wrong with him._


	2. Chapter 2

_RILEY_

* * *

_Something's wrong, something's really wrong._

She doesn't know how she knows or how to explain how she feels, but there's this really bad feeling, a knot in Riley's stomach that she just can't shake. The knot grows bigger and tighter the longer she sits in her father's classroom, and she fidgets with her hair and her clothes to try to ignore it. It doesn't go away for the rest of the class period, or for the next few class periods. It's still there come lunch time, and by then, she's had enough of it.

She waits patiently at their usual lunch table, picking at her mashed potatoes. She greets Zay as he joins her, then Maya, then Farkle and Smackle. There's no sign of Lucas yet.

"Is he avoiding us?" Riley wonders aloud, breathing a soft sigh as she scans the cafeteria for a sign of her friend.

"Who, Huckleberry?" Maya rolls her eyes. "Take a chill pill, Riles. He's probably just having a rough day."

 _I don't like it when my friends have rough days!_ "But he was acting strange this morning," she protests, stabbing her potatoes with an angry huff.

"No, _you're_ acting strange," Maya retorts.

Zay laughs. "Yeah but that's normal," he says. Smackle nods in agreement beside him. "If you _weren't_ acting strange, we'd know something was up."

"You!" Riley stands up suddenly, leaning across the table to look Zay in the eye.

He leans back in his seat with wide eyes and points to his chest. "M-me?"

"Yeah, you!" Riley makes the most intimidating face she can possibly muster, which she knows deep down _probably_ isn't all that intimidating. "You've known Lucas longer than anyone else here. You've _got_ to know something and I want to know what it is _now!"_

Zay throws his hands up in surrender with an uneasy smile. "Look, I don't know anything, I swear! I'm just as confused as you are!"

"Riley, _down!"_ Maya commands as if training a disobedient puppy. She yanks her best friend by the back of her shirt and pulls her back towards her seat. "Sit! Stay!"

"... Yeah, okay, but I'm not rolling over." Riley sits down with a sigh and stares at her plate in defeat. "I just want to know what's going on with him. I can't fix anything if I don't know what's wrong."

"That's the problem, Riley," Isadora says bluntly. It's the first time she's said a word since she sat down at the table. She pushes her glasses further up her nose and awaits Riley's response with an expression she can't confidently read.

Riley blinks, taken aback by her friend's statement. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Smackle can respond, Riley sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Her heart leaps to her throat as she sees Lucas coming up behind them with his tray. "Is this seat taken?" he asks, motioning to the seat on her other side.

"I was saving it for you," Riley says, trying to act cool as Lucas sits down beside her.

"Thank you, ma'am," he says with a smile. It's genuine, but smaller and sadder than usual, and Riley can't shake the feeling that he's still got his guard up. Something's definitely off with him, and he's not letting her in to help.

"Any time," she says, feeling her cheeks grow warm and her ears burn. The butterflies in her stomach when Lucas is around have become more manageable over the years, always there but less debilitating than they were back in middle school. Lucas is her friend first and foremost, crush second. "Are we still going to the library after school?"

"I wouldn't miss it," he nods, and Riley feels a little better.

 _He isn't avoiding me,_ she thinks with a quiet sigh of relief. _I'll figure out what it is he needs help with if it's the last thing I do, but at least I know he's not pushing me away completely._ "Awesome, does 3:30 work?"

"Sounds good to me."

Riley fidgets awkwardly, unsure where to go with the conversation from here.

"So, uh… is everything okay, Lucas? You were pretty late this morning." Zay voices the thoughts of the whole friend group so that Riley doesn't have to do it. She flashes him a grateful smile and he gives her a subtle nod as if to say _'you're welcome_.'

"Yeah, Hopalong, you had us all pretty worried," Maya adds, elbowing Riley in the side. "Especially her."

Lucas breathes a shaky sigh. He seems to debate how to answer, how much to give away, before he finally speaks. "It was nothing, y'all. Just that my father called."

"Your _father_?" Zay echoes incredulously. He's the only one there who has met Lucas's father— Riley wonders what's going through his head as he receives this information. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? She realizes with a frown that Lucas hasn't really talked about his father before. All she knows is that he still lives in Texas.. "What does _he_ want?"

 _Oh,_ Riley tries not to flinch at the uncharacteristic hostility in Zay's usually calm voice. _Bad thing? Sounds like a bad thing to me._

Lucas stares at his lunch, avoiding his friend's gazes. "He, uh, called to ask me to move back to Texas with him."

Five heads shoot up in alarm so fast that each member of the friend group nearly gets whiplash.

"And... you said _what,_ exactly…?" Farkle demands in response. He's the first one to find his voice after a few painfully long heartbeats of stunned silence.

"No, of course I'm not moving back," Lucas reassures them. The group releases a collective sigh of relief, Riley's possibly the loudest.

"But let me guess; he didn't want to take no for an answer?" asks Zay.

Lucas shakes his head. "My father has a habit of turning every single disagreement into an argument, and this time it was… it was pretty bad. He said we would discuss this in person and was on his way to the airport when I hung up with him. He's… he's probably on a flight heading this way as we speak."

"He's flying all the way across the country just to argue with you?" Smackle asks. "Either I'm missing something or that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Farkle shook his head. "Nope, that's… that's pretty ridiculous."

"At least _your_ father bothered to give you a phone call, even if it _was_ just to argue," Maya says indifferently, leaning back in her seat with her feet propped up on the table. "At least you've got that going for you, Huckleberry. He's making some kind of an effort to see you, isn't he?"

"I suppose," Zay scoffs, "That is, if he was someone anybody wants to see."

Maya grunts, glaring at him. Farkle mouths at Zay to 'stop' and he seems to get the message.

Lucas's phone buzzes. He looks at it and breathes a long, defeated sigh, standing up. "That's my mama. I… I gotta step out. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Lucas, wait!" Riley cries, reaching for him, but if he hears her, he doesn't respond. She watches him cross the cafeteria and leave, disappearing into the halls. Riley stands up to follow, but Maya grabs her by her belt loop and pulls her back down again.

The table falls into a long, painfully awkward silence. Riley fidgets and picks at her food. She's lost what little appetite she had. "Why aren't we talking?" she asks, unable to stand the quiet any longer. "We _have_ to talk about this or we're all gonna leave lunch mad at each other. I'm _not_ letting us leave here angry!"

"I'm not angry," Maya says with a nonchalant shrug. "A little annoyed, sure, but angry? Ranger Rick doesn't get to make me angry and neither does his father."

"Neither am I," Farkle adds. "I'm just… taking it all in."

"What is there to take in?" Riley throws her hands up in frustration. "We should be _doing_ something about this! Lucas's father is coming to New York City just to try to take him away from us and we're not going to back him up?"

"I don't know what you want us to do about it, Riley," says Smackle. "We can't stop his father from coming."

"Nobody can," adds Zay. "Believe me; I've met him."

Farkle sighs, taking Lucas's abandoned lunch tray and stacking it under his own. The bell rings, and the group gathers their things to head to class. "The only thing we can do for him is make sure he knows we're there for him."

"Right," Riley agrees reluctantly. The knot in her stomach feels a little more manageable now. "I can do that."

Maya smiles, resting her hand on Riley's shoulder. "We know you can."

* * *

The library is nearly deserted when Riley arrives. A librarian sits at the desk with her nose in a book. Here and there people browse the bookshelves and sit and read and whisper amongst themselves, but for the most part, it's a calm, peaceful place to spend the afternoon.

Riley finds an empty table and sets out her things, using her backpack to save a seat for Lucas. Then she settles into a chair and folds her hands in front of her. And she waits.

And she waits.

And she waits a little more.

When she checks her phone, it's almost 4 o'clock; half an hour after Lucas was supposed to meet her here. She flips the pages of her textbook absentmindedly, scanning the pages without processing any of the words and stubbornly avoiding acknowledging the persistent stream of _'he's not coming he's not coming he's not coming'_ her mind has been playing on repeat since the ten minute mark.

The door cracks open and Riley releases a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in as Lucas walks through the door, looking as tired as ever. She can't help but let out a slightly-too-loud cry of "Lucas!"

"Sorry I'm late, Riley," he says, walking briskly towards her table.

"No problem," she says, moving her backpack from the chair and motioning for him to sit. "All that matters is that you're here now."

Lucas smiles as he sits down beside her,, and Riley feels as though her heart might flutter away like a leaf on the wind. "Great," he says. "Where should we start?"

"Actually, I don't feel like studying anymore," Riley slams the textbook shut and shoves it aside.

Lucas blinks. "You don't?"

"No. I just want to… talk. Just talk."

"I can do that," Lucas smiles. Riley's heart does that fluttery thing again, and she can barely catch her breath. "You _are_ one of my favorite people to talk to after all."

"Same with you," Riley says once she finds her voice. _Focus, Riley, focus._ "So… can you tell me a little bit about your dad? You've… never really talked about him before."

"... Except when you ask questions like that," Lucas sighs. "Alright, so, uh… what do you want to know?"

 _Everything._ Riley catches herself before she can blurt out her thoughts. "Um… what's he like?"

Lucas frowns as though he's deep in thought, considering how much he should tell her. "He's… uh, definitely something. He was never as supportive or affectionate as your father. He wasn't always around very much and when he was, he was angry all the time. Encouraged me to get into fights whenever something didn't go my way."

"He _wanted_ you to handle things with violence?" Riley cries in disbelief.

"Yeah," Lucas avoids Riley's gaze. "But when I got expelled for it, he was disappointed in me. He didn't even try to get custody of me when he and my mom got divorced and she moved us here. I went back for a visit here and there over the first year, got a couple of phone calls, but nowadays my Pappy Joe is the only family from Texas I talk to regularly. The call this morning was the first time I've talked to him in two years."

"That's horrible, Lucas," Riley leans closer to her friend, putting her head on his shoulder. "I had no idea."

"I'm okay with it, really," Lucas reassures her. "But now he's coming here and I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it. I don't know if I really even _want_ to see him, but I guess I don't have much of a choice. I just have to go and try to _peacefully_ convince him to leave it alone and hope it goes well."

"I could help," Riley blurts out, her head shooting up as an idea floods her mind. _I know exactly how I can be there for him!_

"Look, Riley, I know you want to try and fix this, but I just don't see how you could."

"I can help," Riley repeats. "Let me come with you to see your father. He'll see what good friends you have here in New York and then maybe he'll back off when you tell him you want to stay."

Lucas thinks for a few heartbeats. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would, Lucas," Riley takes his hand in hers. "I'd do anything for you."

"Well," Lucas says with a long sigh, "I don't know if it'll work, but I'm willing to try."


	3. Chapter 3

_LUCAS_

* * *

"You really don't have to do this, Riley," Lucas reminds her. They're walking down the street towards his neighborhood, and Lucas can't help but be a little nervous… okay, _a lot_ nervous. Riley's never been to his house before, and he knows he's bringing her into a situation that could escalate into conflict quickly and easily. His father will be waiting for him when he gets home, though Lucas would rather have had their talk on more neutral ground.

Riley doesn't hesitate to respond. "It's okay, Lucas. I want to be here for you. I'm _going_ to be here for you. You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he says, flashing her a grateful smile.

Warmth rises into his cheeks as he watches her walk beside him. He loves spending time with her, seeing those big brown eyes shine every time she sees a pigeon fly by or a squirrel run up a tree, watching her take in the world with a sense of joy and hope he can only dream of obtaining. He wonders what it would be like to spend a day in her mind— what it's like to always be able to see so much good in a world that can be so horrible. He knows it can't possibly be all sunshine and rainbows in there, of course. He's seen her be sad and angry and anxious many times. But still she keeps smiling, and he would do anything to keep it that way.

_What will she think of me when she meets my father?_

The thought catches him off guard. Riley has always seen the good in him, but his father, in his eyes, embodies everything he hates in himself. What if meeting him brings out the worst in Lucas, makes her see him differently?

He doesn't want that.

His stomach flips. He feels nauseous. He wants to get this over with as quick as possible, so Riley can go home and be happy, untainted by his issues.

They spend the rest of the walk in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Even if he could get words to come out of his mouth, Lucas isn't even sure what he wants to say. He leads her up to his apartment, fighting to keep his hands from shaking. There's muffled yelling from inside. He hasn't heard his parents arguing in a very long time, and the sound shakes him to his core. He reaches out to grab the door handle and freezes, his fingers just brushing the knob.

He can't let her in.

He can't let her into this mess, this piece of his life he thought he'd put behind him when he left Texas. The screaming matches he'd endured as a kid, the way he'd learned to push and shove and use brute strength to get what he wanted— it's everything he's ever wanted to leave behind, every part of him he doesn't want Riley to see, and it's waiting behind a door he knows she's not going to let him stop her from going through.

"Lucas?" her voice melts the ice that has been forming in his veins. He feels her hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Riley," he takes a shaky breath, turning to meet her gaze. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything." Riley's voice is steady and confident, but he can tell by her posture that she's more anxious than she's letting on.

"I need you to promise that you won't let whatever happens when I open this door make you see me any differently," Lucas tells her. "My father… he could turn this into a not very pleasant situation, and he could bring out the worst in me. I just don't want this to ruin your perception of me, that's all."

"Lucas," Riley says calmly, lacing her fingers with his and giving his hand a squeeze, "There is _nothing_ that could happen when we go in there that would make me stop believing the best in you, okay? You're going to get through this."

Lucas takes a deep breath, then exhales, his hand shaking as he grips the doorknob. "Okay."

He opens the door and leads Riley inside, down a small hallway that leads into the living room. The arguing falls quiet as they step in- his mother is standing near the couch, and his father— Lucas can't stop himself from stiffening when he lays eyes on him— looks to be in the middle of pacing when he looks up to meet Lucas's gaze.

Lucas tries to speak, but his mouth has gone dry, and the connection between his brain and his mouth seems to have failed. _How is it possible that I want to tell you everything I'm feeling and yet say nothing to you at all?_

"Lucas, my boy!" his father says, his voice slicing through the tension like a sharpened pocket knife. He approaches with his arms spread wide for an embrace.

_I'm not your boy,_ Lucas can't bring himself to say his first thoughts out loud. He has to play this carefully. "Hi, Dad," he finally chokes out the words, his heart hammering against his chest as he is pulled into an awkward hug. He can't breathe, he can't breathe, and all he knows is that he doesn't want to be here. "It's… good to see you…"

"We have a _lot_ to talk about," his father pulls away, blinking as he notices Riley for the first time. He stares at her for several long, painful heartbeats, sizing her up as if she were a foe he's strategizing how to take down. "But first, why don't you introduce me to your sweet little girlfriend. She's quite a looker, eh? What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Oh, no, I'm not his girlfriend," Riley says, keeping her voice remarkably calm as she steps out from behind Lucas. She's noticeably uncomfortable, at least to Lucas. "My name is Riley, Riley Matthews."

"Yeah, Riley here was the first friend I made here in New York, sir," Lucas adds pointedly.

"Well, it's a… _pleasure_ to meet you, Riley." Lucas watches as his father shakes Riley's hand. "The name's Daniel. I'm glad my son has found a friend like you here in the city."

Riley meets his gaze with an expression Lucas can't quite read. "Yes, he has _lots_ of friends here. Our whole friend group would be _lost_ without him."

_Way to be subtle, Riley,_ Lucas thinks, unable to stifle a slightly amused smile despite his nerves.

Daniel stiffens, likely catching on to their plot. "Right," he says, clearing his throat as he shifts his attention from Riley to Lucas. "Anyways, we have a lot to talk about, don't we, my boy?" He leads them to the dining room table and pulls out a chair for each of them.

"I don't see what else there is to say, sir," Lucas replies cooly as he sits down. He thinks he's doing well, keeping his anger in check, even though everything about how nonchalant his father is and the way he talks to Riley and the fact that he's standing in his house here in New York is lighting sparks inside of him that if he isn't careful might spread and grow into an untamable wildfire. "I don't want to move back to Texas, sir. I'm happy here." _Without you,_ he wants so desperately to add. _My life has been much better off these last few years without you in it._

Anger sparks in his father's storming blue eyes. "You speak as though I'm giving you a choice, son. I'm your father; I know what's best for you."

"And you speak as though you have any control over my life," Lucas responds. He curls his fingers into a fist, growing more and more agitated. "You walked out, you gave up your rights to me a long time ago. Why do you suddenly want custody of me now? Ŵhat could you _possibly_ have to gain from me moving back to Texas after so long?"

"I want to be a part of your life, son."

Lucas is fuming, but before he can respond Riley is on her feet in a blur of motion. _What are you doing, Riley?_ He thinks, a confusing rush of admiration and fear flooding him. "Riley-?"

"Lucas's life isn't something you can just _walk in and out of like a revolving door!"_ she talks over him, meeting Daniel's gaze with a defiant spark in her eyes. "You don't just get to-to _choose_ to love him whenever it's convenient for _you_! Who even _does_ that!?"

Daniel's jaw clenches. He stands up slowly, his knuckles tapping the table. Lucas rises too, careful to put himself between his father and his friend. Riley clamps her mouth shut with her hand, her eyes wide as though she's just realized what she did and said.

"Listen here, young lady," Daniel says slowly, his cold blue eyes narrowed. " _None_ of this is any of your business. I think it's time for you to leave."

"She's not going anywhere," Lucas takes Riley's hand in his. She squeezes it tight, releasing a shaky breath as he speaks. "Riley is _my_ friend, this is _my house_ , and you have no jurisdiction over her here."

"So you find your _friendship_ with this little girl more important than your relationship with your father?" Daniel counters. "I thought I raised you better than that."

_You didn't raise me!_ Lucas fights hard to keep from shouting. "Sir, all I'm asking is that you treat Riley with respect. Friends like her don't just, I don't know, _fall into your lap_ out of nowhere."

"No, Lucas, maybe I _should_ go," Riley says quietly, staring down at her shoes. "I promised Maya I'd help her clean her apartment tonight… I guess now is as good a time as ever to head that way…" she lifts her head to meet Lucas's gaze, her voice dropping into a whispered _"I'm sorry."_

Lucas breathes a soft sigh, reluctant to let go of her hand. "You've got nothing to apologize for," he says. "I can handle this here. You go help Maya. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you for having me over," Riley says as she pulls away, nodding to Lucas's parents as she walks towards the door. "Have a good evening!" she calls over her shoulder. Lucas's heart sinks as the door clicks shut behind her. _Thank you for trying, Riley, but I don't think any of this is going to help my situation._

His father clears his throat, pulling Lucas's attention away from Riley's departure. "Now that _that's_ out of the way, son, I believe we were having an important conversation."

"Yes, sir," Lucas says quietly, taking a seat once more. He can't bring himself to look his father in the eye.

"That's what I thought."


	4. Chapter 4

_MAYA_

* * *

_Riley should have been here like half an hour ago,_ Maya thinks, staring at a blank page in her sketchbook. She's stretched out on her bed, home alone, as Gammy is off playing bingo or whatever it is that old ladies do and her mom, of course, is at work.

Her phone vibrates. Maya breathes a soft sigh as she reaches for it— it's the same one Riley's father gave her back in middle school. It's got a few scratches on the screen and it's running a little slow due to its age, but overall it's in decent condition compared to Riley's phones. Her klutzy best friend seems to shatter a phone screen at least a few times a year. She unlocks the screen to see she has a new text from Riley—

**Hey Peaches, sorry I'm running late! I walked Lucas home. I'm running back to my place to grab some things and then I'll be there! ♡♡♡**

Maya responds quickly— **That's fine Honey, see you soon ♡** — and plugs her phone in on her nightstand. She shuts her sketchbook and shoves it aside, sitting up to let her legs dangle over the edge of her bed. She strokes Ginger behind the ears and watches the ferret scurry under her bed with a sigh before venturing out into the living room to wait for Riley to arrive.

On most days, her room is fairly neat, as she has always taken pride in keeping it clean. It's the only place she's ever had that's truly hers and she puts great effort into taking care of it and keeping it presentable. Sure, there's holes in the walls and leaks in the roof and Ginger occasionally chews through things and leaves messes but for the most part, she doesn't have anything to straighten up in there.

Everything outside of it… not so much. There's dishes in the kitchen sink and around the counters stacked a mile high. Discarded wrappers litter the floor, and worn clothes are thrown haphazardly over chairs. Unnecessary clutter covers the coffee table and side tables, and even in places where the wood should be seen, it's blanketed in a few layers of dust. It's a lot for one person to handle, especially one who can't tell a stain from a shadow, and she's glad Riley has agreed to help.

When the knock on the door finally comes twenty minutes later, Maya jumps to her feet and weaves her way through the clutter to let Riley in.

"Hey, Riles!" she greets her best friend with a smile as she steps inside. The brunette seems to be struggling to carry her bag, which looks like it's holding a little too much than it's made to carry.

"Hi Peaches!" Riley grins, glancing around the apartment. "Wow this place is _way_ worse than I thought."

"Thanks," Maya deadpans. She leads Riley to the dining room table, where there's _just_ enough room for Riley to set her things down. "So how was your study date with Ranger Rick?"

Riley blushes. "It wasn't really a _date,"_ she says, unloading her bag. She pulls out a box of black trash bags, several different types of cleaning supplies, gloves, and no sign of stopping. "And we didn't really do much studying. We just… talked a lot."

"How _riveting_. Tell me, how much did you manage to fit in that bag of yours, Mary Poppins?"

"He told me more about his father," Riley continues, ignoring her quip and pulling one last set of sponges out of the bag. "And then I actually got to meet him when I walked Lucas home… it was… a pretty interesting afternoon."

"Oh yeah?" That certainly piques Maya's interest, although she can't help but feel a spark of annoyance. Lucas's complaints about his father had hit her a little hard. At least he has a father who is willing to visit him at all. That's more than she's ever had. "What's he like? Was all of Huckleberry's bitching today warranted?"

Riley bites her lip as though considering how she should respond. "He's really intense," she says finally. "Like, scarier than 'Texas Lucas.' And I don't know why but I just had this _really bad feeling_ in my gut when I was around him. I don't think I like him much."

The corners of Maya's mouth twitch down into a slight frown. If Riley Matthews—who sees all the good and nothing but the good in everyone she has ever interacted with in her _entire life_ —has a bad feeling about a man she's barely met, Maya is inclined to trust her judgment.

"Anyways," Riley says, brushing off the topic before Mays can respond, "Where do we start?"

"I wish I knew."

* * *

Riley is _really_ good at washing the dishes.

So good, in fact, that Maya wishes she could have her help with the dishes every night. Riley washes each dish thoroughly, scrubbing off bits of old food so small and indistinguishable that Maya knows she would never have been able to catch them on her own. She dries each dish and puts them away, admiring how sparkly and shiny they are.

"That's the last one," Maya says as she stacks the last plate in the cupboard. "I don't think I've ever seen the counters so empty! Who knew they were gray?"

"They're still dirty," Riley laughs as she lets the water out of the sink. She uses her fingernail to flick off a flake of grime from the countertop. "Now pass me the Pine-Sol— we're scrubbing them _down!"_

Thirty minutes later and the kitchen is completely spotless. Riley's perfectionism leaves no speck of dust unscrubbed, no surface not shining. Maya's nose tingles at the overbearingly _clean_ smell, and the dust in the air makes her eyes itch.

They tackle the living room and dining room next, and the job passes fast with Riley there to help— they blast music and sing at the top of their lungs as they tag-team every corner of the Hart household. In just under an hour a couple of trash bags are filled, dirty clothes are in the laundry basket, the floor is vacuumed, and the apartment is nearly unrecognizable from the mess it was this morning.

"What's next?" asks Riley, flopping onto the couch. She adjusts a pillow, then sits up to give a splotch on the coffee table one last spritz of wood cleaner.

"I don't think I'll ever get the smell of bleach out of my nose," Maya flops down beside her bestie and rubs her nose, blinking rapidly. "I think that's it. My room's fine."

"What about your mom's room?"

Maya thinks for a minute. "I don't know… I'm not really supposed to go in there without her permission…" She smiles a mischievous smile. "Then again, I don't listen, and our intentions are good, so let's do this."

Riley doesn't look convinced. "So you're sure it's okay?"

"Of _course_ it's okay," Maya gives her a friendly nudge. "Don't think of it like breaking the rules, think of it like… helping her out. We're not snooping around. This is going to be a _big_ surprise."

"Okay…" 

Maya jumps to her feet with Riley on her heels and leads the way into her mother's bedroom. It isn't quite as messy as the rest of the house— her bed isn't made, there's some clothes strewn about, and some empty bags and cups from the Nighthawk Diner on the dresser and nightstand.

"This should be pretty easy; I'll go grab a trash bag," Riley says after a few moments of looking around. She disappears through the doorway and comes back a minute later with a half-filled trash bag and two pairs of gloves.

They set to work on the room, throwing away the trash and getting the clothes put away. Riley makes the bed while Maya reorganizes the dresser, straightening everything up. She goes to put a stray pen in the nightstand drawer when she notices something.

It's a beautiful wooden box in the back of the nightstand drawer, an intricate flower design carved into its lid. She thinks she might have seen it before, a blur on the top shelf of her mother's closet. Always out of her reach. She lifts it out of the drawer with a small smile. _I wonder why she has it down? It doesn't matter. What matters now is that I can finally see what's inside!_

"What's that?" Riley asks, coming to sit on the bed beside her.

"A box," Maya responds absentmindedly, tracing the design with a finger. 

"Haha, I can _see_ that." Riley pushes a stray strand of brown hair out of her face. "But what _is_ the box? It's really pretty. What's inside? Do you know?"

"I'm about to find out." Maya starts to open the box, but Riley grabs her hand.

"Wait! If it's your mom's, are you sure she would be okay with you opening it?"

"Look, if my mom didn't want me to open it, she shouldn't have left it in my reach," Maya counters. "She usually keeps it up in her closet, where I can't get to it. Short people problems, _you_ wouldn't understand. Anyways, it's finally down where I can see it so I am _definitely_ going to look inside."

The look on Riley's face is like she's fighting an internal battle between her sense of right and wrong and her curiosity. It takes all of Maya's strength not to laugh. 

"Do you remember my dad's lesson about the Trojan horse?" Riley asks after the long battle seems to end.

"How could I forget? I danced on his desk because Ranger Rick— no, wasn't it Ranger Roy that week?— told me the card was a Get Out of Detention Free Card and then it _wasn't._ What's that got to do with anything?"

" _Because_ what if this is like the horse?" Riley asks. "What if your mom doesn't want you in that box because there's something in it you shouldn't see?

"Then she shouldn't be keeping secrets from me," Maya sighs. "C'mon, Riles, you can't look me in the eye and tell me you aren't _just_ as curious as I am about what's in the box."

Riley slumps in defeat. "I _am_ , but-"

In that moment, Maya hears the front door open. She shoves the box back into place and shuts the nightstand drawer, jumping to her feet. _Is that Mom? She was supposed to be working super late tonight!_

Riley grabs the trash bag and smooths a wrinkle in the comforter, a silent agreement to venture out of the room passing between them.

When they leave the room, Katy is standing speechless in the doorway like a deer in the headlights, her jaw practically dragging on the floor. She's dropped her takeout bag on the ground. Maya greets her with an uneasy smile. "Hey, Mom! You're home early… I thought you were going to be home late tonight so I wanted to surprise you by cleaning up a little… so, uh, surprise?"

"Yeah, surprise!" Riley adds loudly, with _way_ more enthusiasm than necessary if you were to ask Maya.

"I… I don't know what to say…" Katy says after several long heartbeats of stunned silence. "You did all _this_?"

"Yep," Maya says sincerely. "Well, Riley helped a little bit- _ow!"_ She flinches away as Riley steps on her foot— "Riley helped a _lot_ , actually. Like, I don't think I could have done even _half_ of this without her help." She flashes Riley a smile.

"Well, thank you girls," Katy breathes, picking up the Nighthawk Diner bag and setting it on the dining room table. "Both of you. I really appreciate it."

"It's the least we could do, Miss Hart," Riley says.

"Thank you, Riley," Katy pulls the brunette into a big hug, then drags Maya in too. They stay like that for a few moments before Katy pulls away and opens the takeout bag. "I've got a couple of tuna melts here if you two would like to share."

Riley smiles gratefully. "Thanks, but no thanks," she says firmly. "I ate before I came over."

"Good," Maya unwraps a sandwich, suddenly realizing how hungry she is. She hasn't eaten much since breakfast at the Matthews. Her mouth waters at the scent. "You know I don't share when it comes to my tuna melts."

"Yeah, the _last_ time I tried to take a bite you almost took my finger off!"

"I _said_ I was sorry, Riles," Maya feigns offense, struggling to keep a straight face. "How long are you going to hold this over my head?"

"Until we _die,"_ Riley says dramatically, keeping her face straight for approximately half a millisecond before dissolving into giggles.

"Did we learn _nothing_ from the Coffee Incident?"

" _Maya!_ We _don't_ talk about that!"

"Hold up, you let Riley have _coffee?"_ Katy gasps. "Even _I_ could have told you that was a bad idea, sweetie. The last thing Riley here needs is caffeine."

Maya groans. The Incident in question happened a few months ago— Riley had stolen a sip of her coffee, liked it, and ordered one of her own despite Maya warning her against it. "Tell me about it. She was bouncing off the walls for like two hours, then-" Riley slams her head onto the table and fakes snoring to demonstrate- "she passed out. And the moral of the story _is_?"

Riley's head shoots up. "I'm not allowed to drink coffee anymore?" 

Maya raises an eyebrow. "And?"

"And… don't touch Maya's food without permission?" 

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!"

"Oh, yay! What do I win?"

Maya is about to say ' _a whole lot of nothing'_ when Katy cuts in. "If you two are done discussing your… um, marital problems, I came home early to talk to you about something. I'd say this should be between Maya and I but you would just talk to each other about it immediately after anyways."

"You know us so well," Maya pulls out a chair for Riley, then sits down beside her. "What is it, Mom?"

Katy fiddles with her tuna melt's wrapper. "Well, I got an… interesting call today. It was your father," she lets out a bitter scoff.

"My _what now_?" Maya's blood runs cold and her mouth feels dry.

"Your father," Katy repeats. "He said he's here in the city and he would like to see you. Of course, I told him that if I were you I would say absolutely not, that he doesn't get to just _waltz_ back into your life whenever it's convenient for _him._ But I'm not you, baby girl, and you're plenty old enough to make your own decisions. It is _completely_ up to you."

Maya opens her mouth to respond, but the words get caught in her throat and she can't seem to get them out. Her blood has shifted from ice cold to boiling, and she drops her sandwich in disbelief and anger.

"My… father?" she manages to choke out, her temper rising. She can't believe what she's hearing. "The father you let me think _you_ drove away, the father who left you, who left _us_ because he didn't think we were good enough for him, the father who got another family, the father I haven't seen since I was five? _That_ _father? He_ wants to see me?"

Riley grabs her hand and squeezes it tight. "Easy there, Peaches."

"Yeah," Maya scoffs bitterly, but she can't bring herself to say _'I'll pass'._

Why can't she say it? The decision _seems_ obvious— it's been _eleven years_ since she's seen him, he's never once payed his child support on time, and he can't even be bothered to send so much as a card on holidays, and there's no way she'll ever be able to trust him, to forgive him for walking out. It should be oh so easy to _hate his guts_ with _every fiber of her being_ and yet she _can't_.

"Maya?" Katy asks with an expression she can't read, and Maya realizes she's been staring off into space for a little too long for the silence to be comfortable.

"Do I… do I have to make the decision now?" she asks quietly, weakly, her voice trembling more than she would have liked.

Her mother's face melts. "Oh sweetie of _course_ not."

"Then maybe I'll think about it." That's the only answer she feels completely comfortable giving. She takes a bite of her tuna melt but her appetite is gone, and it feels chewy and tasteless. She wraps it up and moves to put it in the fridge. "I'm going to save this for later if that's okay, Mom?"

Katy nods, and Maya lets out a tired sigh, heading towards her bedroom. Riley follows, remaining quiet until the door clicks shut.

"So… that was kind of a huge deal. Are we going to talk about this?" Riley asks, sitting cross-legged in the chair beside Maya's bed with her hands folded in her lap.

"Not… not right now, Riles," Maya replies, flopping into her bed. "I don't want to think about anything right now."

"Then let's not think," Riley suggests earnestly, and Maya stifles a laugh. _As if_ you're _capable of not thinking, Honey. I'd pay good money to see you not think._

"We're opening that box tomorrow."

"I figured."

"Good, so you're not going to try and stop me?" 

"Oh I'm going to try, but you're probably going to win." Riley's phone buzzes, and she pulls it out of her pocket with a sigh. "Alright, I gotta go, Peaches. See you tomorrow?"

"7 o'clock sharp," Maya promises. "Bright and early."

"Can't wait!"

Maya waits until Riley has left her room to let out a long, pained sigh. She's flooded with so many emotions that she doesn't know what to do with. So she does the only thing she can. She sits up, pulls out her sketchbook and a pencil, and pours her heart out on the page.


	5. Chapter 5

_RILEY_

* * *

_Either he's skipping school or there's something really really, wrong,_ Riley sighs as she scouts the hallways in search of Lucas. He wasn't in class first period and now he's nowhere to be found. _I don't think I'll like either answer._

She rubs her eyes and stifles a yawn, exhausted from a restless night. She'd spent hours tossing and turning in her bed, her mind racing a mile a minute and her stomach twisting in anxiety, and when she'd finally fallen asleep it hadn't been long enough to mean anything before her alarm went off. She's paying for it now—no amount of make-up would be able to hide the dark circles under her eyes, and she doesn't have the energy to muster a smile, let alone prance down the halls without a care in the world like usual.

She's sent several texts and made several calls and left several messages, but it seems his phone is either turned off or dead or both and it's _stressing her out_ not to be able to get a hold of him.

As she tries to crane her neck to see over the heads of a pair of insanely tall seniors, part of her knows she's being a little obsessive, that Lucas is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But she can't shake the feeling that he _needs_ her somehow, even if she isn't sure if it's just that she _wants_ him to need her.

Because she _does_ , she wants him to need her, she wants to do whatever she can to help him deal with his father and she can't do that if he _won't talk to her._ How is she supposed to help if _nobody will talk to her?_

She spots a student in a blue shirt that _could_ be Lucas down the hall, and in her excitement Riley forgets to look where she's putting her feet. One shoe catches on the other, and in a split second she goes from rushing towards the steps to get to maybe-Lucas to letting out a strangled yelp as she tumbles down the flight of stairs, hitting the floor hard.

Students weave their way around her as if she were a minor obstacle in their path, leaving her to lay where she's landed and try to catch her breath.

"First day on new feet?" a familiar voice asks, and she lifts her head to see Zay standing over her with his hand outstretched and a grin gracing his features. "That was quite a fall, Riley."

Riley smiles gratefully and takes Zay's hand, wobbling as he helps pull her to her feet. "Thanks, Zay," she says once she catches her breath. She dusts herself off and smooths the wrinkles in her dress, breathing a soft sigh. She'll be sore in a little while. "I'm okay, really. Just had to, you know, give the floor a hug?"

Zay responds with a nonchalant shrug. "No problem, it happens to the best of us," he reassures her.

"Does it _really_ though?" Riley asks rhetorically, trying not to wince at the spark of pain that fires as she puts weight on her left ankle. She must have twisted it a little in the fall, but she's not going to make a big deal out of it.

"Nah, I was just trying to make you feel better," Zay admits, grinning cheekily, "Leave it to Riley Matthews to trip over her own feet and fall down three whole steps!"

"It's my special talent," Riley laughs, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Her mood has shifted for the better—Zay has a way of cheering people up she could take a few pointers from. "Maya's got her art, Farkle and Smackle have science, you and Lucas have sports, and _I_ trip over thin air."

"Speaking of Lucas, you heard from him at all?" Zay asks as they continue down the hall towards their next class, Riley trying her best to hide her limp.

Riley shakes her head. "I was hoping you had. I haven't talked to him since I left his place yesterday afternoon."

"Ah so you had the pleasure of meeting his _father_ ," Zay spits the word 'father' with disgust evident in his voice. "What'd you think of him?"

Riley's stomach twists. _What_ don't _I think of him? Good things, that's what!_ "He's… intense," she says finally. It feels like the best way to describe the man without delving into the awful feeling she has when she thinks about him.

"Yeah, that about sums him up." Zay agrees, "I never liked him. He was always so _strict_ and angry all the time when we were growing up. He didn't like me hangin out with Lucas. Always _staring_ at me like he was sizing me up, waiting for me to slip up and do something wrong so he could kick me out the house."

"I'm afraid I _did_ slip up," Riley's face burns as she remembers her outburst. She'd destroyed her chance for a good first impression and spoiled the plan she and Lucas had come up with. She stops suddenly, her breath hitching in her throat. _What if that's why he hasn't answered my calls? I probably got him in_ even more _trouble with his dad! He's_ mad _at me!_

Her hands are shaking and her heart is racing. Zay gives her an incredulous look, waiting for elaboration. When Riley doesn't continue, he breaks the silence that has fallen between them. "Uh, what exactly did you _do?"_

Riley throws her hands up. "I… kinda… yelled at him? Something about how he can't just come in and out of Lucas's life whenever he wants…" she trails off and stares at her shoes as if they're the most interesting shoes she's ever seen. "... I really messed up, didn't I, Zay?" she asks after a moment.

Zay stares at her for a few heartbeats. "Wow," is all he can say. " _You_ told off _Daniel Friar_? You gotta be crazy, Riley! Brave as shit, but _crazy."_ He feigns wiping away a tear. "I'm _so_ proud of you!"

"Um. Thanks?" Riley closes her eyes and sucks in a deep breath, desperately willing her heartbeat to steady. "But what if I got Lucas in trouble and that's why he's not here amd not answering my calls or texts? Because he's mad at me?"

The amusement in Zay's expression is somewhat alarming. "If you think Lucas could ever be mad at _you_ for somethin' like that, you've _definitely_ gone insane," he says with a playful nudge. "He adores you and I bet he adores you even more after _that_.

Warmth spreads to her cheeks, and she's sure her face is the same shade of pink as her dress.. "Really?" she mumbles.

"Really. I'm sure you've gathered that Lucas's relationship with his pops ain't all that great. I know for a _fact_ that he appreciates you stickin' up for him. If I had to guess, his dad's told him not to talk to you ever again but he will. Just give him time."

Riley sighs. "Alright. I hope you're right, Zay."

 _That doesn't explain him not coming to school,_ she thinks as they turn into their Health classroom, nodding a greeting to Mr. Fanucchi. _Is his dad so unreasonable that he'd make him miss school just to keep him away from me?_

 _Then again, he_ did just _hop on a plane and fly across the country just to argue with his son in person instead of over the phone. He's already proven to be pretty unreasonable._

"Riley, you're limping," Isadora remarks as they take their seats. There's a hint of something like concern in her usually monotonous voice, and she seems to be watching intently from her seat.

 _Gee, I didn't notice,_ Riley thinks, though she doesn't voice the thought. "Yeah, I fell in the hall, but I'll be okay. It's not the first time it's happened, I promise." Smackle wordlessly pushes her glasses up onto her face, nodding a greeting as Maya walks in and takes a seat behind Riley.

"Psst, hey, Riles," she whispers not-very-softly, tapping Riley's shoulder. "I'm bringing the box to your place tonight."

 _Of course you are,_ Riley stifles a sigh. "I still don't think opening it is a good idea, Peaches," she says, meeting Maya's gaze with one last desperate look. "Don't you think there might be a _really good reason_ your mom doesn't want you to look in it?"

Maya lowers her voice to what's more like mouthing her next words. "What if there's something in it that could help me figure out what to do about you-know-who? If there is, I want _you_ to be with me when I open it."

Riley stiffens, then relents. She _does_ know who, and she feels like a terrible best friend for not thinking about it sooner. She's been so preoccupied with Lucas's father she's almost forgotten that Maya has the chance to meet _her_ father. _Still, you wanted to open the box_ before _that became a thing,_ she wants to reply, but her voice refuses to comply and in any case the bell rings at that moment, signalling the start of class and the end of this conversation, at least for now. _She's right, though. Maybe Katy keeps the box out of her reach because it has something to do with her dad. That_ would _make sense._

 _I guess if this is the only way she'll be able to make a decision, I_ have _to support her. I just feel like we're probably going to regret opening it._

* * *

The class period flies by somewhat quickly, as does the rest of the day. Riley gets no word from Lucas even after the school day ends. She can _almost_ put that out of her mind, though, since she knows Maya will be on her way over soon, bringing with her a whole slew of problems to help solve.

But first things first, she has _math problems_.

So she sits cross-legged on her bed with her Algebra I textbook open to her left, a notebook scrawled with brightly colored but ultimately sloppily handwritten notes—so she might have gone a _little_ overboard with the gel pens—to her right, and her half-finished worksheet in her lap, leaning on one of Auggie's hardcover dinosaur books for leverage.

She's been at this for so long that the numbers and equations on the page are starting to shift and waver like ripples of water, and trying to decipher them is making her head hurt. She rubs her temples and snaps the textbook shut, making a mental note to ask Farkle or Smackle for help with the few questions she hasn't answered later, then flops down with a dramatic sigh and stares at the ceiling until the bay window opens and Maya slips inside with an expression somewhere between a mischievous smirk and a nervous half-smile.

"Alright, Riles, we're doing this," she says, and Riley can tell her best friend sounds more confident than she feels. Maya slips her backpack's straps from her shoulder and withdraws the beautiful wooden box from inside with the utmost care, breathing a shaky sigh.

"We're doing this," Riley echoes, rolling out of the bed to join Maya at the bay window. "You _are_ absolutely, one-hundred-and-fifty-percent sure you want to do this, right?"

"I'm not sure I'm sure of anything these days," Maya says. Her hands are trembling as she grasps the clasp holding the lid shut. "Here goes nothing…"

There's a very faint ' _click'_ sound as she flicks up the latch and slowly lifts the lid.

It's about half full with what looks like mostly papers, though on top is a wallet-sized photo album, a snack-sized baggie of baby teeth, and a small baggie containing a lock of golden blonde hair labeled ' _Maya's first haircut'_ in fancy cursive handwriting that Riley somewhat struggled to read.

 _So far it looks like some pretty harmless stuff. Sentimental for sure, but harmless._ Riley thinks, smiling supportively as a speechless Maya gently removes the items and turns them over in her hands. _But I'm afraid of what we'll find if we dig a little deeper…_

"Wow," Maya says breathlessly, "She really kept all of this stuff?" She jingles the bag of baby teeth with a laugh. Her eyes are brimming with tears. "Like, my _baby teeth,_ really? I can't believe she still has these after all these years."

"Yeah, that's awesome," Riley agrees with a somewhat forced smile. _So now are you satisfied?_

 _Of course not,_ she thinks as Maya begins sifting through the stack of papers. "Oh look!" She lets out an excited squeal, "My old drawings!"

She holds up a couple of crayon drawings much better than expected for having been drawn by a very young Maya, but definitely children's drawings nonetheless. They were pretty generic drawings—a house surrounded by triangular grass and a blue line at the top of the page for the sky, an elephant, a dog, and what looked to be a school assignment drawn on fancy cardstock. It featured three stick figures, one tall and blonde and wearing a blue dress, one smaller and also blonde and wearing a shirt and shorts, and one taller man with short brown hair. The little girl was holding hands with both of her parents, and written at the top of the page in what was probably Maya's best handwriting at the time were the words _My Family_.

"Wow, _that's_ an old one," Maya comments, her gaze hardening at the last one. She laughs a low, humorless laugh, scowling at the drawing. "I must have been three or four when I drew this… look at us. We were so… happy. _I_ was so happy. But maybe this picture was just wishful thinking on my part, even then."

Riley leans her head on Maya's shoulder as she continues, her gaze softening and eyes glistening with withheld tears. "My dad must have disappeared for good not long after this. I haven't seen him in _years_ and now I have the chance to see him again and I _don't know what I'm supposed to do,_ Riles."

"I know, Peaches," Riley says gently, brushing hair out of Maya's face. "You're not _supposed_ to do anything. _He_ was supposed to be there for you and he wasn't. That's _his_ loss, not yours, and you would be completely justified if you didn't want to see him."

Maya breathes a long, tired sigh, wordlessly picking up the little photo album and flipping through it absentmindedly. Her fingers graze from photos of herself as a toddler to elementary school spring pictures to baby pictures, including one in particular that catches Riley's eye—a photograph of Maya as an infant, tiny and frail and in a NICU. But the page turns and the picture is gone as fast as it came, and soon after it goes, Maya starts talking again.

"Maybe I _will_ go see him," she says, pausing to look at the very last page of the book. She pulls it close to her face, and Riley can't see it clearly. "If only just to show him _just_ what he's missed out on." She puts the album down with a confident nod, and Riley gets a good look at the picture. "Yeah, I like the sound of that."

Riley wants to reply, but she can't seem to pick her mouth up off of the floor. Her blood has turned to ice, and her breath has hitched in her throat. She can't _possibly_ be seeing what she's seeing right now.

The last photo in the album is the oldest—possibly done deliberately to hide it, she guesses with the one rational part of her brain that is working— and doesn't feature Maya at all, at least not the way you'd think. A younger Katy Hart, perhaps only a few years older than Maya is now, stands to the left of the shot, a small but distinctive baby bump visible under a pale blue dress. She's smiling—no, _beaming—_ up at the man to her right, a man with scruffy, dirty blonde hair and stormy blue eyes and a prominent jawline covered with peach fuzz.

 _She knows that man_.

 _She's met him before,_ several years older and several pounds heavier, but still, completely undeniably _him_.

The man in the picture is one and the same with the man she met the day before.

That man is Daniel Friar. _Lucas's father._


	6. Chapter 6

_LUCAS_

* * *

_His dreams are more like memories. In this one, he's four years old._

_He's sitting cross-legged on the floor of his room with his back to the door and his hands clamped over his ears, trying desperately to ignore the screaming of his parents down in the living room, the shattering of glass on the floor as beer bottles are broken and the thud of shelves being pushed over._

_"Well if you are SO MISERABLE HERE," his mother yells, her voice strained, "Why don't you just run on back to your OTHER FAMILY ALREADY? You don't think I KNOW that's what you're doing when you take your so-called 'business trips?'"_

_There's the line, the one that usually signals that the fight will be over soon. He knows this, but still he doesn't move, keeping his hands over his ears._

_"Maybe I WILL!" his father roars. A few heartbeats later, the door slams so hard, Lucas can feel the whole house shake. Soon the truck starts up and rumbles away, the sound fading the further away it gets. Downstairs, his mother lets out a heart-wrenching sob._

* * *

_He's six years old now._

_After the last one, his father's "business trips" have ceased altogether. He's chosen Lucas and his mother for good, and he's around a lot now._

_Lucas isn't sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, his parents fight a lot less. They have their arguments, avoid each other for a while, make up, then everything's peaceful for a while until the next fight starts. It leaves him walking on eggshells during the times of peace, waiting for the moment it shatters again._

* * *

_He's ten now, and he's completely forgotten his father ever had another family._

_He's been getting into fights at school. His father taught him how to stand up for himself, but he doesn't like it when he gets in trouble for fighting. He wonders if maybe it's because most of the time he's giving the other kids bloody noses because they're picking on Asher or Dylan or Zay, and his father doesn't like his friends, especially Zay, and Zay's the one he fights for the most often._

_But he_ can't _just let them get bullied by the bad kids, so he fights and he gets in trouble and they call his parents to pick him up. And when he gets home he gets yelled at until his father runs out of breath, at which point he is locked in his room for the rest of the night, usually without dinner._

_He's beginning to think maybe_ he's _one of the bad kids._

_Each time he misbehaves, he waits in the office, praying it's one of the times that it's his Pappy Joe who picks him up. He prefers Pappy Joe's ranch to his own house these days and spends every possible moment there that he can. Pappy Joe has 23 horses and he loves all of them, but he loves riding Sofia the best. On the back of the gentle chestnut mare, he feels invincible._

_He wishes he could stay with Pappy Joe forever, but he knows that before nightfall his father will come to fetch him with the stench of alcohol on his breath, and he's not going to like what happens next._

* * *

_He's about twelve now. He's taken to skipping school to visit his Pappy Joe any time he can, but this time he's not home. So he jumps the fence and goes out to the stables to visit Sofia. His favorite mare is heavily pregnant and due any day now._

_He finds her laying down in her stall, and in a heartbeat he's called the vet for help. She's foaling and there's nobody home and he doesn't know what to do._

_Dr. Galendo talks him through it, and in the end he's helped deliver a beautiful palomino filly. He gets to watch her stand for the very first time, and it's the coolest thing he's seen in his entire life. He's so happy he got to be a part of it that he almost forgets how much trouble he's going to be in if he's caught skipping school._

_"I want to be a veterinarian someday!" he tells his father excitedly that evening as they walk towards their house, hoping to distract him from the fact that he'd skipped school. His father is silent, but his hand strikes him hard across the face. Tears prickle in his eyes as he reaches up to touch the tender spot, dread turning his blood to ice as they near the privacy of home. He doesn't want to think about what's going to happen when that front door slams shut._

_He's terrified._

* * *

He wakes up drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, his heart hammering against his chest as if it were trying to burst right out. He takes in a deep breath, willing his heart rate to steady and his muscles to relax. _It's just a dream, Lucas, relax, please. You're okay. It's in the past and the past can't hurt you. You're not a little kid anymore. You can put up a good fight._

But it's _not_ in the past, not really. Not when his father is here in the city, out in his living room at this very second, probably passed out on the couch. Not when he's still sore and bruised from the end of yesterday's argument. Not when the only thing he can really think of is how to make it all stop. He wants this to be over, but as long as his father is still in his life, it's never going to stop, it's never going to end. 

He's completely and utterly exhausted. _But I have to get to school. I can't miss another day._

The apartment is quiet as he emerges from his bedroom—there's no swearing or screaming or any of the tell-tale signs that his father is awake. If he _is_ awake, he's definitely sober. He winces as he passes the new hole in the wall, and frowns as he catches his reflection in a broken mirror.

He can't go to school like this; with a black eye and bruised jaw, someone will certainly catch on. _Riley_ will certainly catch on, and he doesn't want her to know what's going on. He doesn't want _any_ of his friends to know what's going on. He's supposed to be their protector; how would they feel if they knew he was so _weak_ and _helpless_ and how little _control_ he has over this situation? Surely they wouldn't trust him anymore.

He barely trusts himself anymore.

Lucas retreats back to his room and sits down on the bed with his head in his hands, replaying the events of the night before in his mind. Everything had changed after Riley left—with no non-Friar witnesses, his father felt free to punctuate his argument as to why he should move back to Texas with his fists. He wasn't prepared for the fact that Lucas wasn't a little boy any more, and could actually stand a chance at defending himself in a fight. The two had traded a few blows before Lucas's mother stepped in and broke them up. She'd threatened to kick Daniel out if they couldn't settle down and resolve things like adults.

He'd been so scared his father was going to hit her that he was prepared to put himself in between his parents and kick his father out himself. But at that point Daniel was still somewhat sober, and it hadn't been necessary. If he had touched even a hair on his mother's head, Lucas was confident things would turn ugly fast.

He was glad Riley wasn't still there to see any of that. Then she'd really think less of him, regardless of what she's said.

_Riley! I never texted her like I was supposed to! She's probably freaking out!_

Lucas lunges for his phone, his heart sinking as he remembers the fall it took in the tussle. Most of the screen is shattered beyond repair, with no chance of working long enough to text or call anybody. He bites his lip and lifts his head, staring out of his window. _I'm sorry, Riley. I hope you're not_ too _worried about me._

_She's not,_ the thought rises to the front of his mind before he can squash it. _Why_ should _she be worried about me?_

_Because she's Riley and she worries about everyone,_ he counters his own thoughts. _She cares about me so much that she stood up for me against my father without hesitation, and she's the one person in the world that I feel like I could talk to about anything._

But not this. He can't talk to her about this. He can't talk to _anyone_ about this. So maybe it's a good thing his phone is shattered. Maybe this is happening for a reason, and he's supposed to shield his friends from this.

Maybe this is for the best.


End file.
